18-01-07, amsterdam

Back in Amsterdam where my boat suffers one of the worst storms in years. The canal looks like the North Sea at times.

16-01-07, Kandahar

The last stretch of the trip. Leaving Kandahar. My two fellow travellers:
Marleen in front of the Kandahar Burger King.
Raymond catching the last sun before heading back to freezing Kabul.

15-01-07, Back to Kandahar

Our helicopter landing in Deh Rawod. My camera is in dire need of servicing by now.
Flying over Taliban country.
Pretty country though.

14-01-07, Deh Rawod

Two brothers in dispute over 3 trees that have to be cut. Their adult sons attacked eachother with knives. The commander of a Dutch patrol managed to calm them. There'll be a meeting with the district leader to solve the problem.
Girls in Deh Rawod.
Yours truly. (photo by Mark Friebel)

13-01-07, Deh Rawod

An Afghan contractor, attending a Dutch bid for some building projects in the Deh Rawod region in Uruzgan.
A 4 year old girl at the joint Dutch American 'SickCall' near Deh Rawod. Every day local Afghans come here for medical care. The Dutch are reducing the service and are helping to develop the local hospital. this girl almost lost the tip of a finger in a door accident.
A few minutes later she was outside again.

12-01-07, Deh Rawod

Daily life on Camp Hadrin near Deh Rawod.
The only Shell filling station in Uruzgan is on the Dutch base.
Trying to stay in shape.
Guard at the main gate to the camp.

11-01-07, Tarin Kowt

Going through the wadi in Tarin Kowt.
Along the riverbed.
Searching for mines.
These different landscapes are just a few kilometers away from eachother.

10-01-07 Tarin Kowt

Afghan Police is trained by the dutch Army in Tain Kowt.

Smooth for a good cause. This soldier's head is shaved by one of his collegues. The money he pays for it goes to cancer research.

09-01-07 Tarin Kowt, Uruzgan

Uruzgan from the air.
The mountainrange that seperates Kandahar from Uruzgan.
Arrival in Kamp Holland, the army base in Tarin Kowt, Uruzgan. Nuenen, (top sign) is where I grew up :-)

08-01-07, Kandahar

One of the two female apache helicopter pilots in the Dutch Airforce.
F16 just after finishing a mission off Kandahar Airbase.

With this picture I won a third prize in the Dutch National 'Zilveren Camera' photo contest, for documentary photos.

07-01-07, Kabul

We're being loaded onto a Hercules transport plane for the 1hr flight to Kandahar. The flight was really comfortable unlike all the horrorstories we heard before.

06-01-07 Kabul

The entrance to the old airport terminal which is now the gym of the armybase. The new commercial terminal is on the other side of the airport.


On saturdays there's a big Afghan market near the entrance of the armybase. A great way to stock up on souvenirs.

05-01-07, Kabul

A Belgian Hercules takes off from Kabul airport. We arrived here at 6.30 am after a night without sleep. We're waiting for a flight to Kandahar which will go probably on sunday.


Marleen and I, after we got our flackjackets and helmets. The heavy flackjacket together with my 15 kg backpack with photo equipment and thick wintercoat make me feal like an overpacked mule. (photo by Raymond v.d. Boogaard)

04-01-07, Sharjah

Yes! We're really on our way! It's nearly midnight and we're in Sharjah now; an airport in the United Arab Emirates. We're waiting here so we'll arrive in Kabul during the day.

03-01-07, Eindhoven

Together with journalist Marleen Kuijsters I got on the KDC10 plane of the Dutch Airforce at the army airfield near Eindhoven. After flying for 3 hours we had to turn back because we were not allowed to fly over Turkey. Apparently we didn't have the right permissions. Better luck tomorrow!

02-01-06 Tarin Kowt from the Air

Tarin Kowt is the capital of Uruzgan, a province in central Afghanistan. Close to the city is a Dutch Armycamp that I will be visiting the next 2 weeks. In this Google Earth picture you can see the city and an airstrip, but the base is not visible.

Day 20, Friday 01-12-06

The last day in Nicaragua, baby turtles saved from La Flor beach, before they were eaten by birds. Parkrangers collect them and release them in the water after dark to improve their chances of survival.
And later, a sunset with a flock of pelicans over El Coco beach, an hour south of San Juan del Sur.

Day 19, Thursday 30-11-06

Fireworks sale in San Carlos. They sure take their security measures seriosly here. Ahum...

Day 18, Wednesday 29-11-06

The Solentiname Archipelago in southern Nicaragua is a great place to relax. There's not much more to do.

Day 17, Tuesday 28-11-06

Hilario celebrated spending his week's earnings on beers in a local riverside bar in San Carlos. This small jungle town lies on the border with Costa Rica.

Day 16, Monday 27-11-06

The playboy of El Corona, in Matagalpa province.

Day 15, Sunday 26-11-06

Our guide Berman on Ometepe Island in front of the Volcano Conception.

Day 14, Saturday 25-11-06

Swimming in a chrystal clear spring on Ometepe Island.

Day 13, Friday 24-11-06

Nightview of the crater of the volcano: Masaya, south of Managua.
And my travelpartner Marc in his travel outfit.

Day 12, Thursday 23-11-06

Inside the crater of Cerro Negro (black hill), a small volcano near Leon in Northern Nicaragua.

Day 11, wednesday 22-11-06

A plane load if Nicaraguans arrives at Managua airport after a free eye operation in Venezuela.

Day 10, tuesday 21-11-06

Grafitti of Mara Salvatruche, one of the main youthgangs of El Salvador. This wall is in the neighbourhood Mejicanos, one of the most dangerous places in San salvador where the Mara's (youthgangs) rule.

Day 9, monday 20-11-06

The monument for the massacre in El Mozote. 25 years ago the Salvadorean army murdered more than 1000 civilians here in this remote mountaintop village in Morazan province in northern El Salvador.

Day 8, sunday 19-11-06

Local beauty in Flores, Chalatenango province in Northern El Salvador